Thumb-Stopping and 15 Other Case Studies on HIV-related Behaviour Change Communication

According to APCOM, in large urban areas in Southeast Asia, HIV prevalence has been reported between 15-31%, and the rate of HIV testing among young men who have sex with men (MSM) aged 18 to 29 is less than 50%. Meanwhile, the adoption of media and technology in this region - especially in urban areas - has grown exponentially, which gives campaigners new opportunities to reach and engage this demographic. testXXX was created by APCOM to respond to this crisis and opportunity for HIV services for young MSM in the region. testXXX uses communications and creativity in an effort to empower existing community-based clinics to reach and recruit a wider young MSM audience. Eight testXXX campaigners attended the testXXX Regional Dialogue, which took place in Bangkok, Thailand, May 23-25 2018. Based on the lessons shared during the dialogue, the 15 case studies in this report are intended as a resource both for testXXX campaigners and other HIV service campaigners in the region.

testXXX operates under an Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) grant in Bangkok (Thailand), Jakarta (Indonesia), Manila (the Philippines), and Saigon (Vietnam). The resource provides an overview of each testXXX campaign. Each one is mandated to create partnerships with a certain number of clinics that provide sexual health services, including HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment, to MSM. These selected clinics should be accommodating and sensitive to the needs of MSM, including ensuring non-judgemental, anonymous, and confidential service delivery. testXXX campaigners' goal, in a nutshell, is to reach and recruit young MSM to take HIV/STI testing in the partnered clinics.

The syllabus and agenda of the May 2018 dialogue probed 5 key areas, and the resource begins by sharing 18 insights in total across the areas:

1. Engagement journey (online-to-offline) and integration - sample insight: Campaigners should be aware of the technological platforms that underpin the journey a user takes from engagement to action, then integrate systems and technology to track how and when in the journey they decide to take/book the test (see Case Study 2.1.1).
2. Digital and social media engagement - sample insight: Campaigners should experiment with multiple online advertising platforms to determine which one generates the highest traffic, awareness, and bookings (see Case Study 2.2.3).
3. Campaign video production - sample insight: Campaigners should find a way to make the first few seconds of the video attention-grabbing. Convince the audience to keep watching by making the video local, funny, and, perhaps, naughty (see Case Study 2.3.2).
4. Activation event - sample insight: People want to read about people. Campaigners should use human interest stories of volunteers and beneficiaries to drive media coverage of their activation events (see Case Study 2.4.3).
5. Strategic partnerships - sample insight: In cities where lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people experience hostility and severe social stigma, campaigners should engage with networks of human rights defenders to ensure the survival of the campaign, protect beneficiaries, and protect testXXX as a whole (see Case Study 2.5.1).

"These insights make note of which tactics are working well to reach and recruit young MSM to HIV testing, prevention, treatment and care cascade, and consider which activities could be trialled in other cities."